Saudi Army commander Abdullah Al-Sahyan in this Sept. 28 photo.

There has been an outpouring of support and praise on social media for the Saudi and UAE soldiers who were martyred in the ongoing conflict in Yemen on Monday.

The two were Saudi Arabia’s Col. Abdullah Al-Sahyan and Emirati officer Sultan Al-Kitbi, who were killed while supervising operations to liberate Taiz province in southwest Yemen from Houthi militias and others supporting deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Several social media users published photographs of the two heroes participating in operations in Yemen, with many posting messages that they had died protecting their nations, neighbors and Islam.

In an official statement, the coalition forces prayed to Allah to grant them peace and their families patience. Al-Sahyan’s body has arrived at an airbase in Riyadh and would be taken to Sakaka in Al-Jouf for burial.

Al-Sahyan had met Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi a few days ago where he was awarded a medal of courage for his efforts to liberate Aden and surrounding villages from the rebel militias.

The Houthis and Saleh’s former political party, the General People’s Congress, are sending representatives to Switzerland on Tuesday for talks with Yemen’s government under Hadi, according to reports.

A seven-day renewable cease-fire was scheduled to have come into effect on Monday to coincide with the talks. Two previous attempts at cease-fires, in May and July, had failed.

Fierce fighting was underway between Hadi’s forces and the Shiite rebels just hours before the truce was supposed to start.

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